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Rami M, Shafique M, Sarma SP. Structural, Functional, and Mutational Studies of a Potent Subtilisin Inhibitor from Budgett's Frog, Lepidobatrachus laevis. Biochemistry 2023; 62:2952-2969. [PMID: 37796763 DOI: 10.1021/acs.biochem.3c00252] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 10/07/2023]
Abstract
Subtilases play a significant role in microbial pathogen infections by degrading the host proteins. Subtilisin inhibitors are crucial in fighting against these harmful microorganisms. LL-TIL, from skin secretions of Lepidobatrachus laevis, is a cysteine-rich peptide belonging to the I8 family of inhibitors. Protease inhibitory assays demonstrated that LL-TIL acts as a slow-tight binding inhibitor of subtilisin Carlsberg and proteinase K with inhibition constants of 91 pM and 2.4 nM, respectively. The solution structures of LL-TIL and a mutant peptide reveal that they adopt a typical TIL-type fold with a canonical conformation of a reactive site loop (RSL). The structure of the LL-TIL-subtilisin complex and molecular dynamics (MD) simulations provided an in-depth view of the structural basis of inhibition. NMR relaxation data and molecular dynamics simulations indicated a rigid conformation of RSL, which does not alter significantly upon subtilisin binding. The energy calculation for subtilisin inhibition predicted Ile31 as the highest contributor to the binding energy, which was confirmed experimentally by site-directed mutagenesis. A chimeric mutant of LL-TIL broadened the inhibitory profile and attenuated subtilisin inhibition by 2 orders of magnitude. These results provide a template to engineer more specific and potent TIL-type subtilisin inhibitors.
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Affiliation(s)
- Mihir Rami
- Molecular Biophysics Unit, Indian Institute of Science, Bangalore, Karnataka 560012, India
| | - Mohd Shafique
- Molecular Biophysics Unit, Indian Institute of Science, Bangalore, Karnataka 560012, India
| | - Siddhartha P Sarma
- Molecular Biophysics Unit, Indian Institute of Science, Bangalore, Karnataka 560012, India
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2
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Bozin T, Berdyshev I, Chukhontseva K, Karaseva M, Konarev P, Varizhuk A, Lesovoy D, Arseniev A, Kostrov S, Bocharov E, Demidyuk I. NMR structure of emfourin, a novel protein metalloprotease inhibitor: insights into the mechanism of action. J Biol Chem 2023; 299:104585. [PMID: 36889586 PMCID: PMC10124921 DOI: 10.1016/j.jbc.2023.104585] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 11/20/2022] [Revised: 03/01/2023] [Accepted: 03/02/2023] [Indexed: 03/08/2023] Open
Abstract
Emfourin (M4in) is a protein metalloprotease inhibitor recently discovered in the bacterium Serratia proteamaculans and the prototype of a new family of protein protease inhibitors with an unknown mechanism of action. Protealysin-like proteases (PLPs) of the thermolysin family are natural targets of emfourin-like inhibitors (ELIs) widespread in bacteria and known in archaea. The available data indicate the involvement of PLPs in interbacterial interaction as well as bacterial interaction with other organisms and likely in pathogenesis. Arguably, ELIs participate in the regulation of bacterial pathogenesis by controlling PLP activity. Here, we determined the 3D structure of M4in using solution NMR spectroscopy. The obtained structure demonstrated no significant similarity to known protein structures. This structure was used to model the M4in-enzyme complex, and the complex model was verified by small-angle X-ray scattering. Based on our analysis of the model, we propose a molecular mechanism for the inhibitor, which was confirmed by site-directed mutagenesis. We show that two spatially close flexible loop regions are critical for the inhibitor-protease interaction. One region includes aspartic acid forming a coordination bond with catalytic Zn2+ of the enzyme, and the second region carries hydrophobic amino acids interacting with protease substrate binding sites. Such an active site structure corresponds to the noncanonical inhibition mechanism. This is the first demonstration of such a mechanism for protein inhibitors of thermolysin family metalloproteases, which puts forward M4in as a new basis for the development of antibacterial agents relying on selective inhibition of prominent factors of bacterial pathogenesis belonging to this family.
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Affiliation(s)
- TimurN Bozin
- Institute of Molecular Genetics of National Research Centre "Kurchatov Institute," Moscow, Russia; National Research Centre "Kurchatov Institute," Moscow, Russia; Shemyakin-Ovchinnikov Institute of Bioorganic Chemistry, Russian Academy of Sciences, Moscow, Russia
| | - IgorM Berdyshev
- Institute of Molecular Genetics of National Research Centre "Kurchatov Institute," Moscow, Russia
| | - KseniaN Chukhontseva
- Institute of Molecular Genetics of National Research Centre "Kurchatov Institute," Moscow, Russia
| | - MariaA Karaseva
- Institute of Molecular Genetics of National Research Centre "Kurchatov Institute," Moscow, Russia
| | - PetrV Konarev
- Shubnikov Institute of Crystallography of the Federal Scientific Research Centre "Crystallography and Photonics," Russian Academy of Sciences, Moscow, Russia
| | - AnnaM Varizhuk
- Moscow Institute of Physics and Technology (State University), Dolgoprudny, Russia
| | - DmitryM Lesovoy
- Shemyakin-Ovchinnikov Institute of Bioorganic Chemistry, Russian Academy of Sciences, Moscow, Russia
| | - AlexanderS Arseniev
- Shemyakin-Ovchinnikov Institute of Bioorganic Chemistry, Russian Academy of Sciences, Moscow, Russia
| | - SergeyV Kostrov
- Institute of Molecular Genetics of National Research Centre "Kurchatov Institute," Moscow, Russia
| | - EduardV Bocharov
- Shemyakin-Ovchinnikov Institute of Bioorganic Chemistry, Russian Academy of Sciences, Moscow, Russia; Moscow Institute of Physics and Technology (State University), Dolgoprudny, Russia
| | - IlyaV Demidyuk
- Institute of Molecular Genetics of National Research Centre "Kurchatov Institute," Moscow, Russia.
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Książek M, Goulas T, Mizgalska D, Rodríguez-Banqueri A, Eckhard U, Veillard F, Waligórska I, Benedyk-Machaczka M, Sochaj-Gregorczyk AM, Madej M, Thøgersen IB, Enghild JJ, Cuppari A, Arolas JL, de Diego I, López-Pelegrín M, Garcia-Ferrer I, Guevara T, Dive V, Zani ML, Moreau T, Potempa J, Gomis-Rüth FX. A unique network of attack, defence and competence on the outer membrane of the periodontitis pathogen Tannerella forsythia. Chem Sci 2023; 14:869-888. [PMID: 36755705 PMCID: PMC9890683 DOI: 10.1039/d2sc04166a] [Citation(s) in RCA: 2] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 07/26/2022] [Accepted: 12/09/2022] [Indexed: 12/14/2022] Open
Abstract
Periodontopathogenic Tannerella forsythia uniquely secretes six peptidases of disparate catalytic classes and families that operate as virulence factors during infection of the gums, the KLIKK-peptidases. Their coding genes are immediately downstream of novel ORFs encoding the 98-132 residue potempins (Pot) A, B1, B2, C, D and E. These are outer-membrane-anchored lipoproteins that specifically and potently inhibit the respective downstream peptidase through stable complexes that protect the outer membrane of T. forsythia, as shown in vivo. Remarkably, PotA also contributes to bacterial fitness in vivo and specifically inhibits matrix metallopeptidase (MMP) 12, a major defence component of oral macrophages, thus featuring a novel and highly-specific physiological MMP inhibitor. Information from 11 structures and high-confidence homology models showed that the potempins are distinct β-barrels with either a five-stranded OB-fold (PotA, PotC and PotD) or an eight-stranded up-and-down fold (PotE, PotB1 and PotB2), which are novel for peptidase inhibitors. Particular loops insert like wedges into the active-site cleft of the genetically-linked peptidases to specifically block them either via a new "bilobal" or the classic "standard" mechanism of inhibition. These results discover a unique, tightly-regulated proteolytic armamentarium for virulence and competence, the KLIKK-peptidase/potempin system.
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Affiliation(s)
- Mirosław Książek
- Department of Microbiology, Faculty of Biochemistry, Biophysics and Biotechnology, Jagiellonian University Gronostajowa 7 Kraków 30-387 Poland .,Department of Oral Immunology and Infectious Diseases, University of Louisville School of Dentistry Louisville 40202 KY USA
| | - Theodoros Goulas
- Proteolysis Laboratory, Department of Structural Biology, Molecular Biology Institute of Barcelona (CSIC), Barcelona Science Park c/Baldiri Reixac, 15-21 Barcelona 08028 Catalonia Spain .,Department of Food Science and Nutrition, School of Agricultural Sciences, University of Thessaly Temponera str. Karditsa 43100 Greece
| | - Danuta Mizgalska
- Department of Microbiology, Faculty of Biochemistry, Biophysics and Biotechnology, Jagiellonian University Gronostajowa 7 Kraków 30-387 Poland
| | - Arturo Rodríguez-Banqueri
- Proteolysis Laboratory, Department of Structural Biology, Molecular Biology Institute of Barcelona (CSIC), Barcelona Science Park c/Baldiri Reixac, 15-21 Barcelona 08028 Catalonia Spain
| | - Ulrich Eckhard
- Proteolysis Laboratory, Department of Structural Biology, Molecular Biology Institute of Barcelona (CSIC), Barcelona Science Park c/Baldiri Reixac, 15-21 Barcelona 08028 Catalonia Spain
| | - Florian Veillard
- Department of Microbiology, Faculty of Biochemistry, Biophysics and Biotechnology, Jagiellonian University Gronostajowa 7 Kraków 30-387 Poland
| | - Irena Waligórska
- Department of Microbiology, Faculty of Biochemistry, Biophysics and Biotechnology, Jagiellonian University Gronostajowa 7 Kraków 30-387 Poland
| | - Małgorzata Benedyk-Machaczka
- Department of Microbiology, Faculty of Biochemistry, Biophysics and Biotechnology, Jagiellonian University Gronostajowa 7 Kraków 30-387 Poland
| | - Alicja M. Sochaj-Gregorczyk
- Department of Microbiology, Faculty of Biochemistry, Biophysics and Biotechnology, Jagiellonian UniversityGronostajowa 7Kraków 30-387Poland
| | - Mariusz Madej
- Department of Microbiology, Faculty of Biochemistry, Biophysics and Biotechnology, Jagiellonian University Gronostajowa 7 Kraków 30-387 Poland
| | - Ida B. Thøgersen
- Department of Molecular Biology and Genetics, Aarhus UniversityUniversitetsbyen 81Aarhus C 8000Denmark
| | - Jan J. Enghild
- Department of Molecular Biology and Genetics, Aarhus UniversityUniversitetsbyen 81Aarhus C 8000Denmark
| | - Anna Cuppari
- Proteolysis Laboratory, Department of Structural Biology, Molecular Biology Institute of Barcelona (CSIC), Barcelona Science Park c/Baldiri Reixac, 15-21 Barcelona 08028 Catalonia Spain
| | - Joan L. Arolas
- Proteolysis Laboratory, Department of Structural Biology, Molecular Biology Institute of Barcelona (CSIC), Barcelona Science Parkc/Baldiri Reixac, 15-21Barcelona 08028CataloniaSpain
| | - Iñaki de Diego
- Proteolysis Laboratory, Department of Structural Biology, Molecular Biology Institute of Barcelona (CSIC), Barcelona Science Park c/Baldiri Reixac, 15-21 Barcelona 08028 Catalonia Spain .,Sample Environment and Characterization Group, European XFEL GmbH Holzkoppel 4 Schenefeld 22869 Germany
| | - Mar López-Pelegrín
- Proteolysis Laboratory, Department of Structural Biology, Molecular Biology Institute of Barcelona (CSIC), Barcelona Science Park c/Baldiri Reixac, 15-21 Barcelona 08028 Catalonia Spain
| | - Irene Garcia-Ferrer
- Proteolysis Laboratory, Department of Structural Biology, Molecular Biology Institute of Barcelona (CSIC), Barcelona Science Park c/Baldiri Reixac, 15-21 Barcelona 08028 Catalonia Spain
| | - Tibisay Guevara
- Proteolysis Laboratory, Department of Structural Biology, Molecular Biology Institute of Barcelona (CSIC), Barcelona Science Park c/Baldiri Reixac, 15-21 Barcelona 08028 Catalonia Spain
| | - Vincent Dive
- Université Paris-Saclay, CEA, INRAE, Département Médicaments et Technologies pour la Santé (DMTS), ERL CNRS 9004Gif-sur-Yvette 91191France
| | - Marie-Louise Zani
- Departement de Biochimie, Université de Tours10 Bd. TonelléTours Cedex 37032France
| | | | - Jan Potempa
- Department of Microbiology, Faculty of Biochemistry, Biophysics and Biotechnology, Jagiellonian University Gronostajowa 7 Kraków 30-387 Poland .,Department of Oral Immunology and Infectious Diseases, University of Louisville School of Dentistry Louisville 40202 KY USA
| | - F. Xavier Gomis-Rüth
- Proteolysis Laboratory, Department of Structural Biology, Molecular Biology Institute of Barcelona (CSIC), Barcelona Science Parkc/Baldiri Reixac, 15-21Barcelona 08028CataloniaSpain
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4
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Mendes SR, Eckhard U, Rodríguez-Banqueri A, Guevara T, Czermak P, Marcos E, Vilcinskas A, Xavier Gomis-Rüth F. An engineered protein-based submicromolar competitive inhibitor of the Staphylococcus aureus virulence factor aureolysin. Comput Struct Biotechnol J 2022; 20:534-544. [PMID: 35465156 PMCID: PMC9002140 DOI: 10.1016/j.csbj.2022.01.001] [Citation(s) in RCA: 1] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 11/01/2021] [Revised: 12/30/2021] [Accepted: 01/01/2022] [Indexed: 12/18/2022] Open
Abstract
Aureolysin, a secreted metallopeptidase (MP) from the thermolysin family, functions as a major virulence factor in Staphylococcus aureus. No specific aureolysin inhibitors have yet been described, making this an important target for the development of novel antimicrobial drugs in times of rampant antibiotic resistance. Although small-molecule inhibitors are currently more common in the clinic, therapeutic proteins and peptides (TPs) are favourable due to their high selectivity, which reduces off-target toxicity and allows dosage tuning. The greater wax moth Galleria mellonella produces a unique defensive protein known as the insect metallopeptidase inhibitor (IMPI), which selectively inhibits some thermolysins from pathogenic bacteria. We determined the ability of IMPI to inhibit aureolysin in vitro and used crystal structures to ascertain its mechanism of action. This revealed that IMPI uses the “standard mechanism”, which has been poorly characterised for MPs in general. Accordingly, we designed a cohort of 12 single and multiple point mutants, the best of which (I57F) inhibited aureolysin with an estimated inhibition constant (Ki) of 346 nM. Given that animals lack thermolysins, our strategy may facilitate the development of safe TPs against staphylococcal infections, including strains resistant to conventional antibiotics.
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Guevara T, Körschgen H, Cuppari A, Schmitz C, Kuske M, Yiallouros I, Floehr J, Jahnen-Dechent W, Stöcker W, Gomis-Rüth FX. The C-terminal region of human plasma fetuin-B is dispensable for the raised-elephant-trunk mechanism of inhibition of astacin metallopeptidases. Sci Rep 2019; 9:14683. [PMID: 31604990 PMCID: PMC6789097 DOI: 10.1038/s41598-019-51095-y] [Citation(s) in RCA: 2] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.4] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 07/26/2019] [Accepted: 09/24/2019] [Indexed: 01/07/2023] Open
Abstract
Human fetuin-B plays a key physiological role in human fertility through its inhibitory action on ovastacin, a member of the astacin family of metallopeptidases. The inhibitor consists of tandem cystatin-like domains (CY1 and CY2), which are connected by a linker containing a "CPDCP-trunk" and followed by a C-terminal region (CTR) void of regular secondary structure. Here, we solved the crystal structure of the complex of the inhibitor with archetypal astacin from crayfish, which is a useful model of human ovastacin. Two hairpins from CY2, the linker, and the tip of the "legumain-binding loop" of CY1 inhibit crayfish astacin following the "raised-elephant-trunk mechanism" recently reported for mouse fetuin-B. This inhibition is exerted by blocking active-site cleft sub-sites upstream and downstream of the catalytic zinc ion, but not those flanking the scissile bond. However, contrary to the mouse complex, which was obtained with fetuin-B nicked at a single site but otherwise intact, most of the CTR was proteolytically removed during crystallization of the human complex. Moreover, the two complexes present in the crystallographic asymmetric unit diverged in the relative arrangement of CY1 and CY2, while the two complexes found for the mouse complex crystal structure were equivalent. Biochemical studies in vitro confirmed the differential cleavage susceptibility of human and mouse fetuin-B in front of crayfish astacin and revealed that the cleaved human inhibitor blocks crayfish astacin and human meprin α and β only slightly less potently than the intact variant. Therefore, the CTR of animal fetuin-B orthologs may have a function in maintaining a particular relative orientation of CY1 and CY2 that nonetheless is dispensable for peptidase inhibition.
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Affiliation(s)
- Tibisay Guevara
- Proteolysis Lab, Department of Structural Biology, Molecular Biology Institute of Barcelona, CSIC, Barcelona Science Park, Helix Building, c/ Baldiri Reixac, 15-21, E-08028, Barcelona, Catalonia, Spain
| | - Hagen Körschgen
- Institute of Molecular Physiology, Cell and Matrix Biology, Johannes Gutenberg-University Mainz, Johann-Joachim-Becher-Weg 7, D-55128, Mainz, Germany
| | - Anna Cuppari
- Proteolysis Lab, Department of Structural Biology, Molecular Biology Institute of Barcelona, CSIC, Barcelona Science Park, Helix Building, c/ Baldiri Reixac, 15-21, E-08028, Barcelona, Catalonia, Spain
| | - Carlo Schmitz
- Biointerface Laboratory, Helmholtz Institute for Biomedical Engineering, RWTH Aachen University Medical Faculty, Pauwelsstr. 30, D-52074, Aachen, Germany
| | - Michael Kuske
- Institute of Molecular Physiology, Cell and Matrix Biology, Johannes Gutenberg-University Mainz, Johann-Joachim-Becher-Weg 7, D-55128, Mainz, Germany
| | - Irene Yiallouros
- Institute of Molecular Physiology, Cell and Matrix Biology, Johannes Gutenberg-University Mainz, Johann-Joachim-Becher-Weg 7, D-55128, Mainz, Germany
| | - Julia Floehr
- Biointerface Laboratory, Helmholtz Institute for Biomedical Engineering, RWTH Aachen University Medical Faculty, Pauwelsstr. 30, D-52074, Aachen, Germany
| | - Willi Jahnen-Dechent
- Biointerface Laboratory, Helmholtz Institute for Biomedical Engineering, RWTH Aachen University Medical Faculty, Pauwelsstr. 30, D-52074, Aachen, Germany
| | - Walter Stöcker
- Institute of Molecular Physiology, Cell and Matrix Biology, Johannes Gutenberg-University Mainz, Johann-Joachim-Becher-Weg 7, D-55128, Mainz, Germany
| | - F Xavier Gomis-Rüth
- Proteolysis Lab, Department of Structural Biology, Molecular Biology Institute of Barcelona, CSIC, Barcelona Science Park, Helix Building, c/ Baldiri Reixac, 15-21, E-08028, Barcelona, Catalonia, Spain.
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7
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Cuppari A, Körschgen H, Fahrenkamp D, Schmitz C, Guevara T, Karmilin K, Kuske M, Olf M, Dietzel E, Yiallouros I, de Sanctis D, Goulas T, Weiskirchen R, Jahnen-Dechent W, Floehr J, Stoecker W, Jovine L, Gomis-Rüth FX. Structure of mammalian plasma fetuin-B and its mechanism of selective metallopeptidase inhibition. IUCRJ 2019; 6:317-330. [PMID: 30867929 PMCID: PMC6400186 DOI: 10.1107/s2052252519001568] [Citation(s) in RCA: 17] [Impact Index Per Article: 3.4] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Figures] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 11/13/2018] [Accepted: 01/28/2019] [Indexed: 06/09/2023]
Abstract
Mammalian fetuin-A and fetuin-B are abundant serum proteins with pleiotropic functions. Fetuin-B is a highly selective and potent inhibitor of metallo-peptidases (MPs) of the astacin family, which includes ovastacin in mammals. By inhibiting ovastacin, fetuin-B is essential for female fertility. The crystal structure of fetuin-B was determined unbound and in complex with archetypal astacin, and it was found that the inhibitor has tandem cystatin-type modules (CY1 and CY2). They are connected by an exposed linker with a rigid, disulfide-linked 'CPDCP-trunk', and are followed by a C-terminal region (CTR) with little regular secondary structure. The CPDCP-trunk and a hairpin of CY2 form a bipartite wedge, which slots into the active-site cleft of the MP. These elements occupy the nonprimed and primed sides of the cleft, respectively, but spare the specificity pocket so that the inhibitor is not cleaved. The aspartate in the trunk blocks the catalytic zinc of astacin, while the CY2 hairpin binds through a QWVXGP motif. The CY1 module assists in structural integrity and the CTR is not involved in inhibition, as verified by in vitro studies using a cohort of mutants and variants. Overall, the inhibition conforms to a novel 'raised-elephant-trunk' mechanism for MPs, which is reminiscent of single-domain cystatins that target cysteine peptidases. Over 200 sequences from vertebrates have been annotated as fetuin-B, underpinning its ubiquity and physiological relevance; accordingly, sequences with conserved CPDCP- and QWVXGP-derived motifs have been found from mammals to cartilaginous fishes. Thus, the raised-elephant-trunk mechanism is likely to be generally valid for the inhibition of astacins by orthologs of fetuin-B.
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Affiliation(s)
- Anna Cuppari
- Proteolysis Laboratory, Department of Structural Biology, Molecular Biology Institute of Barcelona, CSIC, Barcelona Science Park, Helix Building, c/o Baldiri Reixac 15-21, E-08028 Barcelona, Catalonia, Spain
| | - Hagen Körschgen
- Institute of Molecular Physiology, Cell and Matrix Biology, Johannes Gutenberg-University Mainz, Johann-Joachim-Becher-Weg 7, D-55128 Mainz, Germany
| | - Dirk Fahrenkamp
- Department of Biosciences and Nutrition and Center for Innovative Medicine, Karolinska Institutet, Blickagången 16, SE-141 83 Huddinge, Sweden
| | - Carlo Schmitz
- Biointerface Laboratory, Helmholtz Institute for Biomedical Engineering, RWTH Aachen University Medical Faculty, Pauwelsstrasse 30, D-52074 Aachen, Germany
| | - Tibisay Guevara
- Proteolysis Laboratory, Department of Structural Biology, Molecular Biology Institute of Barcelona, CSIC, Barcelona Science Park, Helix Building, c/o Baldiri Reixac 15-21, E-08028 Barcelona, Catalonia, Spain
| | - Konstantin Karmilin
- Institute of Molecular Physiology, Cell and Matrix Biology, Johannes Gutenberg-University Mainz, Johann-Joachim-Becher-Weg 7, D-55128 Mainz, Germany
| | - Michael Kuske
- Institute of Molecular Physiology, Cell and Matrix Biology, Johannes Gutenberg-University Mainz, Johann-Joachim-Becher-Weg 7, D-55128 Mainz, Germany
| | - Mario Olf
- Institute of Molecular Physiology, Cell and Matrix Biology, Johannes Gutenberg-University Mainz, Johann-Joachim-Becher-Weg 7, D-55128 Mainz, Germany
| | - Eileen Dietzel
- Department of Biosciences and Nutrition and Center for Innovative Medicine, Karolinska Institutet, Blickagången 16, SE-141 83 Huddinge, Sweden
| | - Irene Yiallouros
- Institute of Molecular Physiology, Cell and Matrix Biology, Johannes Gutenberg-University Mainz, Johann-Joachim-Becher-Weg 7, D-55128 Mainz, Germany
| | - Daniele de Sanctis
- ESRF – The European Synchrotron, 71 Rue Jules Horowitz, F-38000 Grenoble, France
| | - Theodoros Goulas
- Proteolysis Laboratory, Department of Structural Biology, Molecular Biology Institute of Barcelona, CSIC, Barcelona Science Park, Helix Building, c/o Baldiri Reixac 15-21, E-08028 Barcelona, Catalonia, Spain
| | - Ralf Weiskirchen
- Institute of Molecular Pathobiochemistry, Experimental Gene Therapy and Clinical Chemistry, RWTH Aachen University Hospital, Pauwelsstrasse 30, D-52074 Aachen, Germany
| | - Willi Jahnen-Dechent
- Biointerface Laboratory, Helmholtz Institute for Biomedical Engineering, RWTH Aachen University Medical Faculty, Pauwelsstrasse 30, D-52074 Aachen, Germany
| | - Julia Floehr
- Biointerface Laboratory, Helmholtz Institute for Biomedical Engineering, RWTH Aachen University Medical Faculty, Pauwelsstrasse 30, D-52074 Aachen, Germany
| | - Walter Stoecker
- Institute of Molecular Physiology, Cell and Matrix Biology, Johannes Gutenberg-University Mainz, Johann-Joachim-Becher-Weg 7, D-55128 Mainz, Germany
| | - Luca Jovine
- Department of Biosciences and Nutrition and Center for Innovative Medicine, Karolinska Institutet, Blickagången 16, SE-141 83 Huddinge, Sweden
| | - F. Xavier Gomis-Rüth
- Proteolysis Laboratory, Department of Structural Biology, Molecular Biology Institute of Barcelona, CSIC, Barcelona Science Park, Helix Building, c/o Baldiri Reixac 15-21, E-08028 Barcelona, Catalonia, Spain
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Hoffmann D, Eckhardt D, Gerlach D, Vilcinskas A, Czermak P. Downstream processing of Cry4AaCter-induced inclusion bodies containing insect-derived antimicrobial peptides produced in Escherichia coli. Protein Expr Purif 2018; 155:120-129. [PMID: 30529536 DOI: 10.1016/j.pep.2018.12.002] [Citation(s) in RCA: 6] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 08/09/2018] [Revised: 11/29/2018] [Accepted: 12/03/2018] [Indexed: 11/30/2022]
Abstract
The Cry4AaCter tag is a pull-down tag which promotes the formation of inclusion bodies (IBs) that can be resolubilized in an alkaline buffer. Here, we used the Cry4AaCter tag to create a platform for the production of antimicrobial peptides (AMPs) in Escherichia coli featuring a uniform resolubilization process independent of the peptide fused to the pull-down tag. The Cry4AaCter tag conserves the bioactivity of fusion proteins and thus allows the purification of simple AMPs and more complex AMPs stabilized by disulfide bonds. We developed a downstream process (DSP) for the purification of IBs containing the mutated Galleria mellonella insect metalloprotease inhibitor IMPI(I38V), which has a globular structure stabilized by five disulfide bonds. IMPI(I38V) is a potent inhibitor of the M4 metalloproteases used as virulence factors by several human pathogens. We used a single crossflow filtration for the washing and resolubilization of the Cry4AaCter-induced IBs and obtained bioactive IMPI(I38V) after tag removal. We achieved a 68-fold higher protein yield using our IB system compared to an alternative DSP approach in which a GST-fusion strategy was used to produce soluble IMPI(I38V). The Cry4AaCter-based process was transferable to gloverin (another G. mellonella AMP) and the visible marker green fluorescent protein, which accumulated in fluorescent IBs, confirming it is a broadly applicable strategy for the recovery of functional proteins.
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Affiliation(s)
- Daniel Hoffmann
- University of Applied Sciences Mittelhessen, Institute of Bioprocess Engineering and Pharmaceutical Technology, Wiesenstrasse 14, 35390, Giessen, Germany
| | - Dustin Eckhardt
- University of Applied Sciences Mittelhessen, Institute of Bioprocess Engineering and Pharmaceutical Technology, Wiesenstrasse 14, 35390, Giessen, Germany
| | - Doreen Gerlach
- Fraunhofer Institute for Molecular Biology and Applied Ecology (IME), Project Group Bioresources, Heinrich-Buff-Ring 26, 35392, Giessen, Germany
| | - Andreas Vilcinskas
- Fraunhofer Institute for Molecular Biology and Applied Ecology (IME), Project Group Bioresources, Heinrich-Buff-Ring 26, 35392, Giessen, Germany; Justus Liebig University, Heinrich-Buff-Ring, 35392, Giessen, Germany
| | - Peter Czermak
- University of Applied Sciences Mittelhessen, Institute of Bioprocess Engineering and Pharmaceutical Technology, Wiesenstrasse 14, 35390, Giessen, Germany; Fraunhofer Institute for Molecular Biology and Applied Ecology (IME), Project Group Bioresources, Heinrich-Buff-Ring 26, 35392, Giessen, Germany; Justus Liebig University, Heinrich-Buff-Ring, 35392, Giessen, Germany; Kansas State University, Faculty of Chemical Engineering, 1005 Durland Hall 1701A Platt Street, Manhattan, KS, 66506, USA.
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Mukherjee K, Vilcinskas A. The entomopathogenic fungus Metarhizium robertsii communicates with the insect host Galleria mellonella during infection. Virulence 2018; 9:402-413. [PMID: 29166834 PMCID: PMC5955202 DOI: 10.1080/21505594.2017.1405190] [Citation(s) in RCA: 35] [Impact Index Per Article: 5.8] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 01/25/2023] Open
Abstract
Parasitic fungi are the only pathogens that can infect insect hosts directly through their proteinaceous exoskeleton. Penetration of the cuticle requires the release of fungal enzymes, including proteinases, which act as virulence factors. Insects can sense fungal infections and activate innate immune responses, including the synthesis of antifungal peptides and proteinase inhibitors that neutralize the incoming proteinases. This well-studied host response is epigenetically regulated by histone acetylation/deacetylation. Here we show that entomopathogenic fungi can in turn sense the presence of insect-derived antifungal peptides and proteinase inhibitors, and respond by inducing the synthesis of chymotrypsin-like proteinases and metalloproteinases that degrade the host-derived defense molecules. The rapidity of this response is dependent on the virulence of the fungal strain. We confirmed the specificity of the pathogen response to host-derived defense molecules by LC/MS and RT-PCR analysis, and correlated this process with the epigenetic regulation of histone acetylation/deacetylation. This cascade of responses reveals that the coevolution of pathogens and hosts can involve a complex series of attacks and counterattacks based on communication between the invading fungal pathogen and its insect host. The resolution of this process determines whether or not pathogenesis is successful.
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Affiliation(s)
- Krishnendu Mukherjee
- a Fraunhofer Institute for Molecular Biology and Applied Ecology , Department of Bioresources , Giessen , Germany
| | - Andreas Vilcinskas
- a Fraunhofer Institute for Molecular Biology and Applied Ecology , Department of Bioresources , Giessen , Germany.,b Institute for Insect Biotechnology, Justus-Liebig University of Giessen , Giessen , Germany
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10
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Arolas JL, Goulas T, Cuppari A, Gomis-Rüth FX. Multiple Architectures and Mechanisms of Latency in Metallopeptidase Zymogens. Chem Rev 2018; 118:5581-5597. [PMID: 29775286 DOI: 10.1021/acs.chemrev.8b00030] [Citation(s) in RCA: 25] [Impact Index Per Article: 4.2] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 12/15/2022]
Abstract
Metallopeptidases cleave polypeptides bound in the active-site cleft of catalytic domains through a general base/acid mechanism. This involves a solvent molecule bound to a catalytic zinc and general regulation of the mechanism through zymogen-based latency. Sixty reported structures from 11 metallopeptidase families reveal that prosegments, mostly N-terminal of the catalytic domain, block the cleft regardless of their size. Prosegments may be peptides (5-14 residues), which are only structured within the zymogens, or large moieties (<227 residues) of one or two folded domains. While some prosegments globally shield the catalytic domain through a few contacts, others specifically run across the cleft in the same or opposite direction as a substrate, making numerous interactions. Some prosegments block the zinc by replacing the solvent with particular side chains, while others use terminal α-amino or carboxylate groups. Overall, metallopeptidase zymogens employ disparate mechanisms that diverge even within families, which supports that latency is less conserved than catalysis.
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Affiliation(s)
- Joan L Arolas
- Proteolysis Laboratory, Structural Biology Unit ("María-de-Maeztu" Unit of Excellence) , Molecular Biology Institute of Barcelona, Consejo Superior de Investigaciones Científicas , Barcelona Science Park, c/Baldiri Reixac 15-21 , 08028 Barcelona , Catalonia , Spain
| | - Theodoros Goulas
- Proteolysis Laboratory, Structural Biology Unit ("María-de-Maeztu" Unit of Excellence) , Molecular Biology Institute of Barcelona, Consejo Superior de Investigaciones Científicas , Barcelona Science Park, c/Baldiri Reixac 15-21 , 08028 Barcelona , Catalonia , Spain
| | - Anna Cuppari
- Proteolysis Laboratory, Structural Biology Unit ("María-de-Maeztu" Unit of Excellence) , Molecular Biology Institute of Barcelona, Consejo Superior de Investigaciones Científicas , Barcelona Science Park, c/Baldiri Reixac 15-21 , 08028 Barcelona , Catalonia , Spain
| | - F Xavier Gomis-Rüth
- Proteolysis Laboratory, Structural Biology Unit ("María-de-Maeztu" Unit of Excellence) , Molecular Biology Institute of Barcelona, Consejo Superior de Investigaciones Científicas , Barcelona Science Park, c/Baldiri Reixac 15-21 , 08028 Barcelona , Catalonia , Spain
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11
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Goulas T, Garcia-Ferrer I, Marrero A, Marino-Puertas L, Duquerroy S, Gomis-Rüth FX. Structural and functional insight into pan-endopeptidase inhibition by α2-macroglobulins. Biol Chem 2017; 398:975-994. [PMID: 28253193 DOI: 10.1515/hsz-2016-0329] [Citation(s) in RCA: 15] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.1] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 11/22/2016] [Accepted: 02/18/2017] [Indexed: 12/30/2022]
Abstract
Peptidases must be exquisitely regulated to prevent erroneous cleavage and one control is provided by protein inhibitors. These are usually specific for particular peptidases or families and sterically block the active-site cleft of target enzymes using lock-and-key mechanisms. In contrast, members of the +1400-residue multi-domain α2-macroglobulin inhibitor family (α2Ms) are directed against a broad spectrum of endopeptidases of disparate specificities and catalytic types, and they inhibit their targets without disturbing their active sites. This is achieved by irreversible trap mechanisms resulting from large conformational rearrangement upon cleavage in a promiscuous bait region through the prey endopeptidase. After decades of research, high-resolution structural details of these mechanisms have begun to emerge for tetrameric and monomeric α2Ms, which use 'Venus-flytrap' and 'snap-trap' mechanisms, respectively. In the former, represented by archetypal human α2M, inhibition is exerted through physical entrapment in a large cage, in which preys are still active against small substrates and inhibitors that can enter the cage through several apertures. In the latter, represented by a bacterial α2M from Escherichia coli, covalent linkage and steric hindrance of the prey inhibit activity, but only against very large substrates.
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12
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Goulas T, Ksiazek M, Garcia-Ferrer I, Sochaj-Gregorczyk AM, Waligorska I, Wasylewski M, Potempa J, Gomis-Rüth FX. A structure-derived snap-trap mechanism of a multispecific serpin from the dysbiotic human oral microbiome. J Biol Chem 2017; 292:10883-10898. [PMID: 28512127 PMCID: PMC5491774 DOI: 10.1074/jbc.m117.786533] [Citation(s) in RCA: 12] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.7] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 03/16/2017] [Revised: 05/04/2017] [Indexed: 10/19/2022] Open
Abstract
Enduring host-microbiome relationships are based on adaptive strategies within a particular ecological niche. Tannerella forsythia is a dysbiotic member of the human oral microbiome that inhabits periodontal pockets and contributes to chronic periodontitis. To counteract endopeptidases from the host or microbial competitors, T. forsythia possesses a serpin-type proteinase inhibitor called miropin. Although serpins from animals, plants, and viruses have been widely studied, those from prokaryotes have received only limited attention. Here we show that miropin uses the serpin-type suicidal mechanism. We found that, similar to a snap trap, the protein transits from a metastable native form to a relaxed triggered or induced form after cleavage of a reactive-site target bond in an exposed reactive-center loop. The prey peptidase becomes covalently attached to the inhibitor, is dragged 75 Å apart, and is irreversibly inhibited. This coincides with a large conformational rearrangement of miropin, which inserts the segment upstream of the cleavage site as an extra β-strand in a central β-sheet. Standard serpins possess a single target bond and inhibit selected endopeptidases of particular specificity and class. In contrast, miropin uniquely blocked many serine and cysteine endopeptidases of disparate architecture and substrate specificity owing to several potential target bonds within the reactive-center loop and to plasticity in accommodating extra β-strands of variable length. Phylogenetic studies revealed a patchy distribution of bacterial serpins incompatible with a vertical descent model. This finding suggests that miropin was acquired from the host through horizontal gene transfer, perhaps facilitated by the long and intimate association of T. forsythia with the human gingiva.
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Affiliation(s)
- Theodoros Goulas
- From the Proteolysis Lab, Structural Biology Unit, María de Maeztu Unit of Excellence, Molecular Biology Institute of Barcelona, Consejo Superior de Investigaciones Científicas, 08028 Barcelona, Spain
| | - Miroslaw Ksiazek
- the Department of Microbiology, Faculty of Biochemistry, Biophysics and Biotechnology and
- the Department of Oral Immunology and Infectious Diseases, University of Louisville School of Dentistry, Louisville, Kentucky 40202
| | - Irene Garcia-Ferrer
- From the Proteolysis Lab, Structural Biology Unit, María de Maeztu Unit of Excellence, Molecular Biology Institute of Barcelona, Consejo Superior de Investigaciones Científicas, 08028 Barcelona, Spain
| | - Alicja M Sochaj-Gregorczyk
- the Department of Microbiology, Faculty of Biochemistry, Biophysics and Biotechnology and
- the Malopolska Centre of Biotechnology, Jagiellonian University, 30-387 Kraków, Poland, and
| | - Irena Waligorska
- the Department of Microbiology, Faculty of Biochemistry, Biophysics and Biotechnology and
| | - Marcin Wasylewski
- the Department of Microbiology, Faculty of Biochemistry, Biophysics and Biotechnology and
| | - Jan Potempa
- the Department of Microbiology, Faculty of Biochemistry, Biophysics and Biotechnology and
- the Department of Oral Immunology and Infectious Diseases, University of Louisville School of Dentistry, Louisville, Kentucky 40202
| | - F Xavier Gomis-Rüth
- From the Proteolysis Lab, Structural Biology Unit, María de Maeztu Unit of Excellence, Molecular Biology Institute of Barcelona, Consejo Superior de Investigaciones Científicas, 08028 Barcelona, Spain,
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13
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Cramer J, Krimmer SG, Fridh V, Wulsdorf T, Karlsson R, Heine A, Klebe G. Elucidating the Origin of Long Residence Time Binding for Inhibitors of the Metalloprotease Thermolysin. ACS Chem Biol 2017; 12:225-233. [PMID: 27959500 DOI: 10.1021/acschembio.6b00979] [Citation(s) in RCA: 13] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.9] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 12/11/2022]
Abstract
Kinetic parameters of protein-ligand interactions are progressively acknowledged as valuable information for rational drug discovery. However, a targeted optimization of binding kinetics is not easy to achieve, and further systematic studies are necessary to increase the understanding about molecular mechanisms involved. We determined association and dissociation rate constants for 17 inhibitors of the metalloprotease thermolysin by surface plasmon resonance spectroscopy and correlated kinetic data with high-resolution crystal structures in complex with the protein. From the structure-kinetics relationship, we conclude that the strength of interaction with Asn112 correlates with the rate-limiting step of dissociation. This residue is located at the beginning of a β-strand motif that lines the binding cleft and is commonly believed to align a substrate for catalysis. A reduced mobility of the Asn112 side chain owing to an enhanced engagement in charge-assisted hydrogen bonds prevents the conformational adjustment associated with ligand release and transformation of the enzyme to its open state. This hypothesis is supported by kinetic data of ZFPLA, a known pseudopeptidic inhibitor of thermolysin, which blocks the conformational transition of Asn112. Interference with this retrograde induced-fit mechanism results in variation of the residence time of thermolysin inhibitors by a factor of 74 000. The high conservation of this structural motif within the M4 and M13 metalloprotease families underpins the importance of this feature and has significant implications for drug discovery.
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Affiliation(s)
- Jonathan Cramer
- Institute
of Pharmaceutical Chemistry, University of Marburg, Marbacher
Weg 6, 35032 Marburg, Germany
| | - Stefan G. Krimmer
- Institute
of Pharmaceutical Chemistry, University of Marburg, Marbacher
Weg 6, 35032 Marburg, Germany
| | - Veronica Fridh
- GE Healthcare Bio-Sciences AB, SE-751 84 Uppsala, Sweden
| | - Tobias Wulsdorf
- Institute
of Pharmaceutical Chemistry, University of Marburg, Marbacher
Weg 6, 35032 Marburg, Germany
| | | | - Andreas Heine
- Institute
of Pharmaceutical Chemistry, University of Marburg, Marbacher
Weg 6, 35032 Marburg, Germany
| | - Gerhard Klebe
- Institute
of Pharmaceutical Chemistry, University of Marburg, Marbacher
Weg 6, 35032 Marburg, Germany
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14
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Kayode O, Wang R, Pendlebury DF, Cohen I, Henin RD, Hockla A, Soares AS, Papo N, Caulfield TR, Radisky ES. An Acrobatic Substrate Metamorphosis Reveals a Requirement for Substrate Conformational Dynamics in Trypsin Proteolysis. J Biol Chem 2016; 291:26304-26319. [PMID: 27810896 DOI: 10.1074/jbc.m116.758417] [Citation(s) in RCA: 18] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 09/13/2016] [Revised: 11/01/2016] [Indexed: 01/13/2023] Open
Abstract
The molecular basis of enzyme catalytic power and specificity derives from dynamic interactions between enzyme and substrate during catalysis. Although considerable effort has been devoted to understanding how conformational dynamics within enzymes affect catalysis, the role of conformational dynamics within protein substrates has not been addressed. Here, we examine the importance of substrate dynamics in the cleavage of Kunitz-bovine pancreatic trypsin inhibitor protease inhibitors by mesotrypsin, finding that the varied conformational dynamics of structurally similar substrates can profoundly impact the rate of catalysis. A 1.4-Å crystal structure of a mesotrypsin-product complex formed with a rapidly cleaved substrate reveals a dramatic conformational change in the substrate upon proteolysis. By using long all-atom molecular dynamics simulations of acyl-enzyme intermediates with proteolysis rates spanning 3 orders of magnitude, we identify global and local dynamic features of substrates on the nanosecond-microsecond time scale that correlate with enzymatic rates and explain differential susceptibility to proteolysis. By integrating multiple enhanced sampling methods for molecular dynamics, we model a viable conformational pathway between substrate-like and product-like states, linking substrate dynamics on the nanosecond-microsecond time scale with large collective substrate motions on the much slower time scale of catalysis. Our findings implicate substrate flexibility as a critical determinant of catalysis.
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Affiliation(s)
| | | | | | - Itay Cohen
- the Department of Biotechnology Engineering and the National Institute of Biotechnology in the Negev, Ben-Gurion University of the Negev, Beer-Sheva 84105, Israel, and
| | | | | | - Alexei S Soares
- the Photon Sciences Directorate, Brookhaven National Laboratory, Upton, New York 11973
| | - Niv Papo
- the Department of Biotechnology Engineering and the National Institute of Biotechnology in the Negev, Ben-Gurion University of the Negev, Beer-Sheva 84105, Israel, and
| | - Thomas R Caulfield
- Neuroscience, Mayo Clinic College of Medicine, Jacksonville, Florida 32224,
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15
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Joop G, Vilcinskas A. Coevolution of parasitic fungi and insect hosts. ZOOLOGY 2016; 119:350-8. [PMID: 27448694 DOI: 10.1016/j.zool.2016.06.005] [Citation(s) in RCA: 38] [Impact Index Per Article: 4.8] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 11/14/2015] [Revised: 02/26/2016] [Accepted: 06/15/2016] [Indexed: 10/21/2022]
Abstract
Parasitic fungi and their insect hosts provide an intriguing model system for dissecting the complex co-evolutionary processes, which result in Red Queen dynamics. To explore the genetic basis behind host-parasite coevolution we chose two parasitic fungi (Beauveria bassiana and Metarhizium anisopliae, representing the most important entomopathogenic fungi used in the biological control of pest or vector insects) and two established insect model hosts (the greater wax moth Galleria mellonella and the red flour beetle Tribolium castaneum) for which sequenced genomes or comprehensive transcriptomes are available. Focusing on these model organisms, we review the knowledge about the interactions between fungal molecules operating as virulence factors and insect host-derived defense molecules mediating antifungal immunity. Particularly the study of the intimate interactions between fungal proteinases and corresponding host-derived proteinase inhibitors elucidated novel coevolutionary mechanisms such as functional shifts or diversification of involved effector molecules. Complementarily, we compared the outcome of coevolution experiments using the parasitic fungus B. bassiana and two different insect hosts which were initially either susceptible (Galleria mellonella) or resistant (Tribolium castaneum). Taking a snapshot of host-parasite coevolution, we show that parasitic fungi can overcome host barriers such as external antimicrobial secretions just as hosts can build new barriers, both within a relatively short time of coevolution.
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Affiliation(s)
- Gerrit Joop
- Institute for Insect Biotechnology, Justus Liebig University of Giessen, Heinrich-Buff-Ring 26-32, D-35392 Giessen, Germany.
| | - Andreas Vilcinskas
- Institute for Insect Biotechnology, Justus Liebig University of Giessen, Heinrich-Buff-Ring 26-32, D-35392 Giessen, Germany; Department of Bioresources, Fraunhofer Institute for Molecular Biology and Applied Ecology, Winchesterstrasse 2, D-35394 Giessen, Germany
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16
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Alloy AP, Kayode O, Wang R, Hockla A, Soares AS, Radisky ES. Mesotrypsin Has Evolved Four Unique Residues to Cleave Trypsin Inhibitors as Substrates. J Biol Chem 2015; 290:21523-35. [PMID: 26175157 DOI: 10.1074/jbc.m115.662429] [Citation(s) in RCA: 22] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.4] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 04/30/2015] [Indexed: 01/18/2023] Open
Abstract
Human mesotrypsin is highly homologous to other mammalian trypsins, and yet it is functionally unique in possessing resistance to inhibition by canonical serine protease inhibitors and in cleaving these inhibitors as preferred substrates. Arg-193 and Ser-39 have been identified as contributors to the inhibitor resistance and cleavage capability of mesotrypsin, but it is not known whether these residues fully account for the unusual properties of mesotrypsin. Here, we use human cationic trypsin as a template for engineering a gain of catalytic function, assessing mutants containing mesotrypsin-like mutations for resistance to inhibition by bovine pancreatic trypsin inhibitor (BPTI) and amyloid precursor protein Kunitz protease inhibitor (APPI), and for the ability to hydrolyze these inhibitors as substrates. We find that Arg-193 and Ser-39 are sufficient to confer mesotrypsin-like resistance to inhibition; however, compared with mesotrypsin, the trypsin-Y39S/G193R double mutant remains 10-fold slower at hydrolyzing BPTI and 2.5-fold slower at hydrolyzing APPI. We identify two additional residues in mesotrypsin, Lys-74 and Asp-97, which in concert with Arg-193 and Ser-39 confer the full catalytic capability of mesotrypsin for proteolysis of BPTI and APPI. Novel crystal structures of trypsin mutants in complex with BPTI suggest that these four residues function cooperatively to favor conformational dynamics that assist in dissociation of cleaved inhibitors. Our results reveal that efficient inhibitor cleavage is a complex capability to which at least four spatially separated residues of mesotrypsin contribute. These findings suggest that inhibitor cleavage represents a functional adaptation of mesotrypsin that may have evolved in response to positive selection pressure.
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Affiliation(s)
- Alexandre P Alloy
- From the Department of Cancer Biology, Mayo Clinic Comprehensive Cancer Center, Jacksonville, Florida 32224 and
| | - Olumide Kayode
- From the Department of Cancer Biology, Mayo Clinic Comprehensive Cancer Center, Jacksonville, Florida 32224 and
| | - Ruiying Wang
- From the Department of Cancer Biology, Mayo Clinic Comprehensive Cancer Center, Jacksonville, Florida 32224 and
| | - Alexandra Hockla
- From the Department of Cancer Biology, Mayo Clinic Comprehensive Cancer Center, Jacksonville, Florida 32224 and
| | - Alexei S Soares
- the Biology Department, Brookhaven National Laboratory, Upton, New York 11973
| | - Evette S Radisky
- From the Department of Cancer Biology, Mayo Clinic Comprehensive Cancer Center, Jacksonville, Florida 32224 and
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17
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Engineered protease inhibitors based on sunflower trypsin inhibitor-1 (SFTI-1) provide insights into the role of sequence and conformation in Laskowski mechanism inhibition. Biochem J 2015; 469:243-53. [PMID: 25981970 DOI: 10.1042/bj20150412] [Citation(s) in RCA: 53] [Impact Index Per Article: 5.9] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 04/02/2015] [Accepted: 05/18/2015] [Indexed: 11/17/2022]
Abstract
Laskowski inhibitors regulate serine proteases by an intriguing mode of action that involves deceiving the protease into synthesizing a peptide bond. Studies exploring naturally occurring Laskowski inhibitors have uncovered several structural features that convey the inhibitor's resistance to hydrolysis and exceptional binding affinity. However, in the context of Laskowski inhibitor engineering, the way that various modifications intended to fine-tune an inhibitor's potency and selectivity impact on its association and dissociation rates remains unclear. This information is important as Laskowski inhibitors are becoming increasingly used as design templates to develop new protease inhibitors for pharmaceutical applications. In this study, we used the cyclic peptide, sunflower trypsin inhibitor-1 (SFTI-1), as a model system to explore how the inhibitor's sequence and structure relate to its binding kinetics and function. Using enzyme assays, MD simulations and NMR spectroscopy to study SFTI variants with diverse sequence and backbone modifications, we show that the geometry of the binding loop mainly influences the inhibitor's potency by modulating the association rate, such that variants lacking a favourable conformation show dramatic losses in activity. Additionally, we show that the inhibitor's sequence (including both the binding loop and its scaffolding) influences its potency and selectivity by modulating both the association and the dissociation rates. These findings provide new insights into protease inhibitor function and design that we apply by engineering novel inhibitors for classical serine proteases, trypsin and chymotrypsin and two kallikrein-related peptidases (KLK5 and KLK14) that are implicated in various cancers and skin diseases.
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18
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Goulas T, Cuppari A, Garcia-Castellanos R, Snipas S, Glockshuber R, Arolas JL, Gomis-Rüth FX. The pCri System: a vector collection for recombinant protein expression and purification. PLoS One 2014; 9:e112643. [PMID: 25386923 PMCID: PMC4227841 DOI: 10.1371/journal.pone.0112643] [Citation(s) in RCA: 22] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.2] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 08/13/2014] [Accepted: 10/09/2014] [Indexed: 12/11/2022] Open
Abstract
A major bottleneck in structural, biochemical and biophysical studies of proteins is the need for large amounts of pure homogenous material, which is generally obtained by recombinant overexpression. Here we introduce a vector collection, the pCri System, for cytoplasmic and periplasmic/extracellular expression of heterologous proteins that allows the simultaneous assessment of prokaryotic and eukaryotic host cells (Escherichia coli, Bacillus subtilis, and Pichia pastoris). By using a single polymerase chain reaction product, genes of interest can be directionally cloned in all vectors within four different rare restriction sites at the 5'end and multiple cloning sites at the 3'end. In this way, a number of different fusion tags but also signal peptides can be incorporated at the N- and C-terminus of proteins, facilitating their expression, solubility and subsequent detection and purification. Fusion tags can be efficiently removed by treatment with site-specific peptidases, such as tobacco etch virus proteinase, thrombin, or sentrin specific peptidase 1, which leave only a few extra residues at the N-terminus of the protein. The combination of different expression systems in concert with the cloning approach in vectors that can fuse various tags makes the pCri System a valuable tool for high throughput studies.
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Affiliation(s)
- Theodoros Goulas
- Proteolysis Lab, Molecular Biology Institute of Barcelona, CSIC, Barcelona Science Park, Helix Building, Barcelona, Spain
- * E-mail: (TG); (FXGR)
| | - Anna Cuppari
- Proteolysis Lab, Molecular Biology Institute of Barcelona, CSIC, Barcelona Science Park, Helix Building, Barcelona, Spain
| | - Raquel Garcia-Castellanos
- Proteolysis Lab, Molecular Biology Institute of Barcelona, CSIC, Barcelona Science Park, Helix Building, Barcelona, Spain
| | - Scott Snipas
- Sanford-Burnham Medical Research Institute, La Jolla, California, United States of America
| | - Rudi Glockshuber
- Institute of Molecular Biology and Biophysics, Department of Biology, Zurich, Switzerland
| | - Joan L. Arolas
- Proteolysis Lab, Molecular Biology Institute of Barcelona, CSIC, Barcelona Science Park, Helix Building, Barcelona, Spain
| | - F. Xavier Gomis-Rüth
- Proteolysis Lab, Molecular Biology Institute of Barcelona, CSIC, Barcelona Science Park, Helix Building, Barcelona, Spain
- * E-mail: (TG); (FXGR)
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19
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Network analyses reveal pervasive functional regulation between proteases in the human protease web. PLoS Biol 2014; 12:e1001869. [PMID: 24865846 PMCID: PMC4035269 DOI: 10.1371/journal.pbio.1001869] [Citation(s) in RCA: 121] [Impact Index Per Article: 12.1] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 09/10/2013] [Accepted: 04/16/2014] [Indexed: 11/21/2022] Open
Abstract
Network modeling of interactions between proteases and their inhibitors reveals a network of new protein connections and cascades in the protease web. Proteolytic processing is an irreversible posttranslational modification affecting a large portion of the proteome. Protease-cleaved mediators frequently exhibit altered activity, and biological pathways are often regulated by proteolytic processing. Many of these mechanisms have not been appreciated as being protease-dependent, and the potential in unraveling a complex new dimension of biological control is increasingly recognized. Proteases are currently believed to act individually or in isolated cascades. However, conclusive but scattered biochemical evidence indicates broader regulation of proteases by protease and inhibitor interactions. Therefore, to systematically study such interactions, we assembled curated protease cleavage and inhibition data into a global, computational representation, termed the protease web. This revealed that proteases pervasively influence the activity of other proteases directly or by cleaving intermediate proteases or protease inhibitors. The protease web spans four classes of proteases and inhibitors and so links both recently and classically described protease groups and cascades, which can no longer be viewed as operating in isolation in vivo. We demonstrated that this observation, termed reachability, is robust to alterations in the data and will only increase in the future as additional data are added. We further show how subnetworks of the web are operational in 23 different tissues reflecting different phenotypes. We applied our network to develop novel insights into biologically relevant protease interactions using cell-specific proteases of the polymorphonuclear leukocyte as a system. Predictions from the protease web on the activity of matrix metalloproteinase 8 (MMP8) and neutrophil elastase being linked by an inactivating cleavage of serpinA1 by MMP8 were validated and explain perplexing Mmp8−/− versus wild-type polymorphonuclear chemokine cleavages in vivo. Our findings supply systematically derived and validated evidence for the existence of the protease web, a network that affects the activity of most proteases and thereby influences the functional state of the proteome and cell activity. Proteases modify the structure and activity of all proteins by peptide bond hydrolysis and are increasingly recognized as integral regulatory components of numerous biological mechanisms. Deregulated protease activity is a common characteristic of many diseases. However, protease drug development is complicated by an incomplete understanding of protease biology. One missing piece in this puzzle is the interplay between proteases: Some proteases activate other proteases, whereas some proteases inactivate inhibitors, leading to currently unpredictable cleavage of additional proteins. Using database annotations we mathematically modeled protease interactions. Our model includes 1,230 proteins and shows connections between 141,523 pairs of proteases, substrates, and inhibitors. Thus, proteases interact on a large scale to form the protease web, which links most studied groups of proteases and their inhibitors, indicating that the potential of regulation through this network is very large. We found that this interplay is robust to targeted or untargeted pruning of the protease web and that protease inhibitors are central to network connectivity. Our model was used to decipher proteolytic pathways that drive inflammatory processes in vivo. Consequently, protease regulatory interactions should be recognized and explored further to understand in vivo roles and to select better drug targets that avoid side effects arising from inhibition of unexpected activities.
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20
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Szabó A, Radisky ES, Sahin-Tóth M. Zymogen activation confers thermodynamic stability on a key peptide bond and protects human cationic trypsin from degradation. J Biol Chem 2014; 289:4753-61. [PMID: 24403079 DOI: 10.1074/jbc.m113.538884] [Citation(s) in RCA: 7] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.7] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 12/18/2022] Open
Abstract
Human cationic trypsinogen, precursor of the digestive enzyme trypsin, can be rapidly degraded to protect the pancreas when pathological conditions threaten, while trypsin itself is impressively resistant to degradation. For either form, degradation is controlled by two necessary initial proteolytic events: cleavage of the Leu81-Glu82 peptide bond by chymotrypsin C (CTRC) and cleavage of the Arg122-Val123 peptide bond by trypsin. Here we demonstrate that the Leu81-Glu82 peptide bond of human cationic trypsin, but not trypsinogen, is thermodynamically stable, such that cleavage by CTRC leads to an equilibrium mixture containing 10% cleaved and 90% uncleaved trypsin. When cleaved trypsin was incubated with CTRC, the Leu81-Glu82 peptide bond was re-synthesized to establish the same equilibrium. The thermodynamic stability of the scissile peptide bond was not dependent on CTRC or Leu-81, as re-synthesis was also accomplished by other proteases acting on mutated cationic trypsin. The Leu81-Glu82 peptide bond is located within a calcium binding loop, and thermodynamic stability of the bond was strictly dependent on calcium and on the calcium-coordinated residue Glu-85. Trypsinolytic cleavage of the Arg122-Val123 site was also delayed in trypsin relative to trypsinogen in a calcium-dependent manner, but for this bond cleavage was modulated by kinetic rather than thermodynamic control. Our results reveal that the trypsinogen to trypsin conformational switch modulates cleavage susceptibility of nick sites by altering both the thermodynamics and kinetics of cleavage to protect human cationic trypsin from premature degradation.
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Affiliation(s)
- András Szabó
- From the Department of Molecular and Cell Biology, Boston University Henry M. Goldman School of Dental Medicine, Boston, Massachusetts 02118 and
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21
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Quigley A, Dong YY, Pike ACW, Dong L, Shrestha L, Berridge G, Stansfeld PJ, Sansom MSP, Edwards AM, Bountra C, von Delft F, Bullock AN, Burgess-Brown NA, Carpenter EP. The structural basis of ZMPSTE24-dependent laminopathies. Science 2013; 339:1604-7. [PMID: 23539603 DOI: 10.1126/science.1231513] [Citation(s) in RCA: 74] [Impact Index Per Article: 6.7] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 12/19/2022]
Abstract
Mutations in the nuclear membrane zinc metalloprotease ZMPSTE24 lead to diseases of lamin processing (laminopathies), such as the premature aging disease progeria and metabolic disorders. ZMPSTE24 processes prelamin A, a component of the nuclear lamina intermediate filaments, by cleaving it at two sites. Failure of this processing results in accumulation of farnesylated, membrane-associated prelamin A. The 3.4 angstrom crystal structure of human ZMPSTE24 has a seven transmembrane α-helical barrel structure, surrounding a large, water-filled, intramembrane chamber, capped by a zinc metalloprotease domain with the catalytic site facing into the chamber. The 3.8 angstrom structure of a complex with a CSIM tetrapeptide showed that the mode of binding of the substrate resembles that of an insect metalloprotease inhibitor in thermolysin. Laminopathy-associated mutations predicted to reduce ZMPSTE24 activity map to the zinc metalloprotease peptide-binding site and to the bottom of the chamber.
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Affiliation(s)
- Andrew Quigley
- Structural Genomics Consortium, University of Oxford, Oxford, UK
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Vilcinskas A. Evolutionary plasticity of insect immunity. JOURNAL OF INSECT PHYSIOLOGY 2013; 59:123-129. [PMID: 22985862 DOI: 10.1016/j.jinsphys.2012.08.018] [Citation(s) in RCA: 78] [Impact Index Per Article: 7.1] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 04/10/2012] [Revised: 08/08/2012] [Accepted: 08/13/2012] [Indexed: 06/01/2023]
Abstract
Many insect genomes have been sequenced and the innate immune responses of several species have been studied by transcriptomics, inviting the comparative analysis of immunity-related genes. Such studies have demonstrated significant evolutionary plasticity, with the emergence of novel proteins and protein domains correlated with insects adapting to both abiotic and biotic environmental stresses. This review article focuses on effector molecules such as antimicrobial peptides (AMPs) and proteinase inhibitors, which display greater evolutionary dynamism than conserved components such as immunity-related signaling molecules. There is increasing evidence to support an extended role for insect AMPs beyond defense against pathogens, including the management of beneficial endosymbionts. The total number of AMPs varies among insects with completed genome sequences, providing intriguing examples of immunity gene expansion and loss. This plasticity is discussed in the context of recent developments in evolutionary ecology suggesting that the maintenance and deployment of immune responses reallocates resources from other fitness-related traits thus requiring fitness trade-offs. Based on our recent studies using both model and non-model insects, I propose that insect immunity genes can be lost when alternative defense strategies with a lower fitness penalty have evolved, such as the so-called social immunity in bees, the chemical sanitation of the microenvironment by some beetles, and the release of antimicrobial secondary metabolites in the hemolymph. Conversely, recent studies provide evidence for the expansion and functional diversification of insect AMPs and proteinase inhibitors to reflect coevolution with a changing pathosphere and/or adaptations to habitats or food associated with microbial contamination.
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Affiliation(s)
- Andreas Vilcinskas
- Institute of Phytopathology and Applied Zoology, Justus-Liebig-University of Giessen, Heinrich-Buff-Ring 26-32, 35392 Giessen, Germany.
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Trillo-Muyo S, Martínez-Rodríguez S, Arolas JL, Gomis-Rüth FX. Mechanism of action of a Janus-faced single-domain proteininhibitor simultaneously targeting two peptidase classes. Chem Sci 2013. [DOI: 10.1039/c2sc21712k] [Citation(s) in RCA: 4] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.4] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/21/2022] Open
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